How Vengeance Dies
by iconofcoolness
Summary: Prepare yourself mentally as you experience the darkening of a man's soul as he protect's his family and friends, while finding the opportunity to hunt...a Predator.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter I**_

_**Disclaimer:**_

_This story has been written purely for entertainment purposes, and in no way, shape, form, or fashion means to impede, or infringe upon any copyrighted material whatsoever. I do however retain credit and claim responsibility for the creation of names and character statistics of any and all characters within this publication. These characters are based on copyrighted ideas and or characters of the respective owners of said material within the entertainment industry. No money will be attributed to the author of the following publication in any form. Definitions and wording used to describe devices, and other such items are derived from other literary works involving these types of characters. This publication was created for the sole purpose of entertainment and the expansion of a concept formerly copyrighted by an individual or individuals as a group._

I am a hunter. I am good at what I do, no one can argue with that. But there are very few of us left who have the skills to challenge the other creatures of the Earth and survive single-handedly. While it may be true that as a species we have groups of people with large caliber, multi-round guns to kill with, even fewer of them would be able to hunt alone in the woods or jungles by themselves. There are even fewer who believe in tracking and stalking an animal with the least amount of equipment possible. I, Denton Hays, am one of the few, and I learned it from my father. I have in turn taught these things to my son, and hopefully he will teach these things to his son and so forth, until the day comes when hunting is outlawed. It will be on that day that my way of life will have truly died, and what's worse is that on that day the true nature of our existence as a people in this universe will have died with it.

Living the way I do makes me a rare breed from what I am told. Of course, most would say that I am merely a relic, left over from a time when hunters were still needed. It's like being told you're no longer useful.

Everything today is practically done for us. Those that would seek profit from the endeavor raise cattle on farms for our consumption, using chemicals to help keep the creatures healthy and produce the most amount of product per animal. Plants bearing the various vegetables we consume are also grown in the same way and people have lost the touch to be able to grow these items on their own without having to use pesticides or other chemicals to help them grow. Nothing we do to survive today, according to the few of us that still believe in the old ways, is being done on a natural level. It's no secret that medical science allows for a longer life span than what was the norm hundreds of years ago, but there are more diseases than ever before, and new ones cropping up all the time. Science has to continually fight against the very problems it creates. Is it a vicious circle that will continue to get smaller and smaller until there is no more circle left to travel or will we as a species continue to add to the path of the circle until all forward movement is impossible, constantly stepping over the filth and trash that those before us have left, until there is no longer a way to travel the path, or will we find a way to move forward and break free of circle that binds us. I can't answer that right now, I have never been one to think that the future of our race was in my hands, nor was it something I had ever imagined.

We as a species have lost what used to lie deep within. Lost is the individual need to survive, that instinctive urge that drives people above and beyond what science perceives as normal human abilities. As I said before though, there are a few of us who purposefully go out into the wilderness and jungles and test our will against nature and the beasts harbored within the vast confines of these places. I hunt because I believe it will eventually make my lineage stronger to eat healthy untainted meat fresh from the source, and yet still provide a sense of unity and balance with the world God has created for us. Hunting is my one way of maintaining the balance of nature. I only take what I need, no more no less.

I only keep trophies of the most profound creature of any one species as a sign of reverence to the animal so that their memory can live on even after their species may go extinct, and that a trophy is never taken merely for the glory of having the trophy itself. The only way to ever improve upon the trophy of any one species you've taken is when a larger more worthy opponent presents itself, unless of course you have already filled your need for consumable meat that season. As my father always pointed out, 'Maybe you can take him down next year.' It is when you do have the right conditions for morally taking a larger trophy that the previous trophy be burned and given back to the Earth so that it may one day provide fresh new grounds for the next generation of creatures to thrive upon. Every part of the animal is used, my floors are covered in furs of the various pelts I have gained, the bones of the animal are donated to those local Indian tribes still in existence who have mastered the art of making bone handled knives or other various tools, and what meat I can not consume in a seasons time is donated or shared with those that are less fortunate than I. Nothing goes to waste if I can help it. Everything has a function, and therefore nothing has gone to waste.

There are some who do this merely for sport and not for their survival. These are the individuals who hunt merely to feel more like a man, to gain some hidden respect within themselves, and have a need to feel superior to others by taking the life of a creature that they have no intention of fully utilizing for any purpose other than taking a trophy to prove their worth. I know this happens, for I have seen the horrific results of a hunter's fresh kill. Only the head was taken while the rest of the body was left to decompose or be eaten by the other predatory creatures of the wild.

This was different though. What I found on the ground was simply…disturbing. Unexplainable. I paused for a moment, and peered around me visually scanning for other life signs, before kneeling down above the half gutted creature. There was something odd about the smell in the air around it. Almost as if someone in the area had used a plasma burner to take this poor defenseless creature down. There was some other smell present as well, something…unfamiliar, which was odd in and of itself. It is not uncommon for those of us who have spent considerable amounts of time in the woods to possess senses far above that of other humans who cling to their TV sets and movie screens. Scientists would have you believe otherwise, of course, that there was no proof as to the extrasensory abilities one gains when spending so much time with nature, but those of us who hunt regularly know the truth. Those of us who break the bonds of modern civilization and willfully accept the gifts that nature has bestowed upon us know the truth. It is because of these overactive senses that I knew something was out of place, but without additional information I could do nothing but concentrate on the more outstanding evidence presenting itself to me at the moment.

The leftover carcass seemed to possess burn marks, much like those that are left after the use of a plasma burner. Being that I am also a game warden in the area I have a responsibility to find out who had done this. While it was still legal to hunt animals in this day and age, there were some weapons restrictions. One of which was a burner. This device is outlawed for hunting because of the tendency to destroy far too much of the available meat and other resources the animal may have offered.

I know the laws well. I helped to write them. My influence goes far and wide throughout the country, and my position as a game warden is voluntary. My true means of financial support is being a businessman, and quite a successful one at that. I have political ties nationwide, which if I could I would eliminate altogether, for as it stands I don't like politics. Never have, and never will. Though, as I have gotten older I have learned how to use the friends that I have in politics to keep the tradition of hunting alive and well, at least for now. Despite how people view my hunting habits, I am still well respected when it comes to other issues in society.

It wasn't long before I realized that the skull and spine had been removed from the body and that the burn pattern signified there being only a single shot fired. The center of the blast mark indicated that whoever made this shot obviously possessed a great deal of knowledge concerning their targets anatomy. It was a dead on kill shot. Not many hunters could have done this, or have this kind of knowledge of the species, not yet anyway.

This particular creature is a fairly new species known as an Ostrocaurus, genetically bred for the need to maintain the balance of nature in the area. Only a few hundred of them exist in the region, this being the first area in the world, in fact, to have had these creatures inserted into the wild. This would not have been accomplished so easily if people had not depopulated the Earth somewhat to colonize the other planets we have recently discovered. It is only because of the depopulation of humans that we have been able to reacquire the use of the land, not only for the purpose of replenishing Earth's natural wonder, but also for testing the resilience of newly created species we intend to place on the planets that are only now finished with the terra-forming process.

I wasn't far from my home where all of this occurred. This being part of the reason the area was chosen as a testing ground in the first place, seeing as to how I was one of the foremost high-ranking authorities on tracking poachers and wildlife in general in the United States. It was a difficult struggle to get this assignment. I had to fight with all the self-righteous, tree-hugging, liberal, environmentalist, freaks, and their respective organizers to get anywhere near the idea of my overseeing the project. This was mostly due to the fact that they don't like my being a hunter. Some of them even accused me of wanting this post for the purpose of hunting a new species. Morons, don't they realize that if I wanted to hunt a new species I would've simply…hunted them instead.

In spite of my obvious distaste for their opinions they are merely trying to persuade others to their viewpoint, and in this day and age they have the right to do so. Then again, so do I. What's more is, that I have proven time and time again, after inviting some of them to come with me on a hunt to see that I do not hunt for sport, but for the health of my family and those who share in my opinions regarding the treatment of Earth's creatures. I suppose I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, considering that I dislike those who hunt solely for trophies, and yet dislike those who like to see hunting banned altogether.

I examined the carcass further for any evidence I may be able to use to my advantage in discovering the perpetrators of this crime. After being satisfied with my examination I decided it would be best to call in the local investigation team to take some samples as well as the body back to the labs for analysis. 'The environmentalists are gonna have a field day with this one.' I thought to myself.

I stood and pulled out the communication device given to me by the head of the labs for specifically an event such as this. I was in the middle of the call describing what I had found, when I thought I saw something in the trees move in a rather unusual way. Continuing to stare at the spot, I realized that the air seemed to be moving, not the trees. I cocked my head sideways a bit for a different perspective hoping to decipher what it was I was seeing. Without alerting the individual on the other end I managed to keep my voice at a normal tone while disconnecting from the call.

It wasn't all that hot outside for this time of year, but since the Earth had once again shifted on its axis, as it does every so many eons, the temperatures of certain regions had fluctuated making this region rise in average temperature by about 12 degrees, and the area was quickly becoming a tropical to sub-tropical environment. It was beautiful to see the differences in the landscape. The heat still didn't explain the hot spot I saw moving further into the trees. I've seen hot spots before over super heated sections of highway and in the hottest of deserts around the world, but none of them had ever moved before, not like this anyway.

A few strange moments of the movement had filled me with curiosity. I looked back down at the fresh carcass and pondered the idea of leaving it unattended while I investigated the oddity in the trees. It wouldn't be long before the team of scientists arrived to investigate the demise of this poor creature and take it away for further study.

'I hope the labs weren't experimenting with alien life forms again, not after what happened last time.' I thought to myself. Those things were ugly, and dangerous. I've never hunted anything like that before in my life, and probably never will again. It was satisfying though, and the only time I've ever hunted without the intention of using the prey for sustenance. The bones, if you want to call them that, worked out nicely as not only decoration in my home, but made for some awfully useful tools and knives as well. The knives made great Christmas gifts to all those whom I knew either hunted or just plain needed a good knife.

Being covered in various shades of black and gray made them hard to hunt. They were intelligent too. In fact they were almost too smart, I would almost venture to say that they might have been sentient beings. A living weapon is how one of the scientists labeled them. Nonetheless, they were eradicating the native species of animals in the area and had even engineered an ambush for two other hunting parties sent out by the company and the leading scientists, meant to recapture them. Adding to their reign of terror was the incident involving the tree huggers staging a protest in the woods and an expedition to study them. Complete dumb asses if you ask me. If it weren't for the fact that one of the survivors came running up to my house in utter fear with one of those creatures trailing about a hundred yards behind him, I probably would have never known of their existence until it was too late, thank God for some small miracles huh? My kids were still small back then and weren't quite old enough to handle firearms properly. They would've been completely defenseless against these mercilessly cunning creatures. Never before have I encountered a being as dangerous, I still have the scars to prove it.

Suddenly it hit me after thinking about those dark, vile, Xeno…things, or whatever they called them. That's what's out of place here. I _had_ seen this kind of mutilation before. These Ostrocaurus remains had the same wounds as some other creatures I found not long before encountering the Xeno's for the first time, it was also when I first came across those demonic animals that I saw the air move strangely through the trees. That was years ago though.

I decided that before I would go exploring the woods for…whatever may be out there this time, I should again call the company lab and see if they had any escapes recently. Naturally if I called and talked to the same geeky dipshit again I would get the company's typical answer that nothing was wrong. I wasn't that stupid though, I dialed the number directly to Jack Weyland's office. Being a personal friend of mine, I knew he would give me the straight answer. Ok, maybe I would have to threaten to pull some funding out from underneath him to do it, but regardless, I knew in the end I would get him to talk.

In the meantime I kept a close eye on my surroundings as the phone rang. I stood fast in my position close to the stench of the carcass, considering I had taken a few steps past it and had my back turned away from where it lay. It's not like it was going anywhere anytime soon or anything, I mean, the dead don't just get up and walk off you know. On the other hand, I thought if I could still smell it, it would still be there when I turned around.

Much to my surprise, I saw the air move again. It was different this time. It more or less had some shape to it, a humanoid shape. 'Wait a minute…' I said to myself. The word 'ghost' quickly came to mind. 'Alright that's it…maybe you've been out in the woods too long Denton.' My thoughts were scrambling to make some sense of a situation getting weirder every second that went by.

Hearing a click on the phone like the one you hear when someone answers the other end snapped me back into reality.

"Denton, it's been a while, what have you been doing with yourself lately?"

"Oh, just scraping up the remains of an Ostrocaurus body."

"Oh…well…that's…um…is that what you really called me for?"

"No, not exactly…I'll make it simple, and if I don't get the answer I want, or the one I think is true, I'm gonna pull my funding on your off planet resource mining projects." I didn't feel like I had the time to waste having to drag the answers out of him, considering that if Xeno's were loose again, I wasn't prepared to fend them off with what I had on me as far as weapons were concerned.

"Damn, Denton. I thought you would've learned by now, you don't have to threaten me to get what you want. All you have to do is ask." His answer was neat and clean just like the image his company is so intent on keeping. It's probably the reason why when I threaten him he responds so well.

"Cut the bullshit Jack, just tell me if you've had any Xeno's getting outta hand lately."

The line was silent. It was still silent. Still nothing. I pulled the phone away from my ear thinking he had hung up on me, as I grimaced with exasperation over what I thought he had just done.

I was about to start dialing again when I heard a voice on the other end, and swiftly put the phone back to my ear.

"Denton…Denton you there buddy?"

"Yeah." I said with aggravation clearly imbedded into the tone I used.

"Oh good, I thought I lost you for a second there."

He continued.

"It took me a few seconds to get a hold of the proper department, but you'll be happy to know that we've got everything contained."

"I don't have time for your bullshit Jack, I'm standin' here in the middle of the freakin woods with shit getting weirder every second. I swear if you're lyin' to me, and I get outta this alive, not only will I cut all the funding I give you, but I'll hunt you down, and there'll be no place in this universe you can hide…do you hear me?"

"Denton, Denton…I know how you are, and I learned from the last time I fucked things up that you don't trust me, and truthfully I thought I would play it smart this time, I decided to record my conversation with the science dept. specifically so you'd know I was telling you the truth, cuz I need your funding that badly."

"You've got my attention." I replied coldly.

As I listened to the conversation I could tell that Jack was just as pissed as I was at the mere mention of one of those things even getting out again. He yelled into the intercom at the scientist jerkweed on the other end, saying something like, '…if one of those things got out again so help me I'll make sure every one of you lab coat wearing test tube handling pieces of shit never gets another job on this planet…do you understand me?"

Jack was never very good at dishing out insults, humorous or otherwise, and truthfully he wasn't a bad guy, he just happened to become the owner of too large a company for him to know how to run, and at too young an age. He inherited it after his father passed away and Jack was barely nineteen. God bless that old mans soul. It was both my father and his that taught me what I knew of hunting, they were good friends and my father still to this day mentions how much he misses his friend. There was never enough time for him to fully get a handle on how his father kept the operation up and running. Gotta give him credit though, he tries like hell. Maybe he'll figure it out one of these days.

Ok, so maybe he's coming around to being the trustworthy guy I knew him to be once, back when we were kids.

"Alright Jack…you're off the hook this time, but I do want you to get those clean up guys out here as soon as you can…there's some weird shit goin on out here and I don't feel like playin' babysitter to a corpse."

"You got it buddy…hold on a second…ah, here it is."

"Here what is?" I asked.

"Well, I just checked the computer for outbound field crews…they left a few minutes ago. ETA in…fifteen minutes. But that's not all, there's another one in your area, they've been out there for eight hours already."

"I haven't seen them. What were they doing out here?"

"I don't know exactly, it's a military tagged file, you know, part of that contingency the government wants me to keep here."

"Yeah, I know, they were part of the problem last time too weren't they."

"Uh huh, Tell you what, I can hack into the file…it'll take me a while though. Maybe they had an escape or something. Whatever it is I'll find out…contact you soon."

"I'll be here."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter II**_

_**Disclaimer:**_

_This story has been written purely for entertainment purposes, and in no way, shape, form, or fashion means to impede, or infringe upon any copyrighted material whatsoever. I do however retain credit and claim responsibility for the creation of names and character statistics of any and all characters within this publication. These characters are based on copyrighted ideas and or characters of the respective owners of said material within the entertainment industry. No money will be attributed to the author of the following publication in any form. Definitions and wording used to describe devices, and other such items are derived from other literary works involving these types of characters. This publication was created for the sole purpose of entertainment and the expansion of a concept formerly copyrighted by an individual or individuals as a group._

It wasn't but a few short seconds after I hung up with Jack Weyland, that I noticed the odd stench from earlier getting stronger. Pausing for a short few seconds, I again pondered the idea of leaving the carcass alone and venturing off further into the woods to investigate the strange visual anomaly.

Birds usually chirped their simple songs throughout the thick of the overgrowth, but for some reason or another they were absent from the area, adding to the atypical scene. What would make them disappear like this, all of them, at one time, and not even a trace of them was anywhere near here. The last time that happened, was when we introduced a new species into the area. Ok, so maybe there was a new predator in town we hadn't expected, but usually there was some kind of proof, and this time there wasn't. There was the odd air movement, that happened last time the Xeno's were out, and come to think of it the birds had vacated the area then too. There were the plasma burns on the carcass, yeah, that coincided with the Xeno's being loose as well. It was all becoming clear.

While, Weyland had guaranteed me that his company had no record of any Xeno's on the loose, there was still the fact that the government paid Jack for the mutual use of his facilities and they oftentimes shared in experimental duties. It was no secret though, that they had also reserved a certain portion of the buildings specifically for their own use and no one else.

I was lucky Jack was a friend and despite his difficult position between the military contracts on one side of things, and the contracts he had with me on the other, and the lying he had to do between the two in order to protect himself, I knew that in the long run he was loyal, and never truly let me down when I really needed the help. If there was info the government was hiding, especially within Jack's own company files, he was going to find it. I would have my answers soon enough. I hoped.

One thing didn't quite make sense to me though, the Xeno's didn't carry burners nor did I think they would know how to use them, much less have anywhere to hide them. Additionally, all the burned bodies were left with the meat generally intact. Carnivores wouldn't willingly leave their meat source unprotected unless they were trying to attract a bigger meal. There was something else too. The last time the Xeno's were out, Jack and I had a lengthy discussion as to their abilities and their species as a whole and there was nothing to indicate that they were capable of such feats like making air move in strange ways. They certainly weren't capable of teleportation, so that couldn't have explained anything about the air either.

There it was again, those waves in the air. They were closer this time, and moving rapidly, circling around my position along the edge of the clearing where the trees started. My eyes tracked it and I immediately went into defense mode. It was that switch in my head I mentioned earlier. The one that suddenly brings back all the things I learned about hunting and survival. Yeah, there was something out here all right. I now got the feeling it was no Xeno, but something else entirely. It must be that there was some other creature out here that we don't know about, some creature with the uncanny ability to…be…invisible. I couldn't believe I even entertained that thought. No creature has a natural means of cloaking.

I kept my eyes peeled on the movement without giving away the fact that I knew it was there. Something I learned in Spec Ops. If your opponent thinks for a second that you know he's there, you're more likely to be fired upon before you can gather enough information to defend yourself. Without making it obvious that I was visually tracking…whatever it was, I casually, yet cautiously took a few steps back towards the carcass of the dead Ostrocaurus. Whatever was out there had obviously killed this thing, and knew how to use a burner. Which meant that it was most likely a sentient being. Maybe the military had something to mask themselves with in this way. It wouldn't surprise me; those of us in Spec Ops were experimenting with those kinds of things years ago. Maybe they finally got it right this time.

Still, it doesn't explain why they would be killing any species of animal, or even tracking me at the moment. Could it be that they finally achieved a fully integrated cloaking device, and that one of the guys went nuts, and is out here killing whatever he can…'…get a grip Denton.' I said out loud to myself.

I narrowed my eyes a bit thinking that if they had any kind of visual enhancement equipment it would be harder for them to see that I was watching them as well. I now had the carcass between myself and my stalker, my head was bowed down to give the impression that I was further examining the dead body, all the while never taking my eyes from the shimmering pattern of light some hundred feet away or so.

To my surprise something flashed from what appeared to be the head of this image before me. It truly looked as if the eyes had momentarily lit up. That confirmed it, this thing had to be a soldier from some Spec Ops team I wasn't aware of, and he was surely using some kind of visual enhancement device. I know this because when I trained with that same kind of equipment we could occasionally see when someone was changing from one spectrum to the other if the lighting conditions were right. I thought for a second about hailing him to reveal himself. Then I thought about the dead Ostrocaurus in front of me.

Why in God's name would any military commander or government organization be out here blasting away newly created species of animals? Surely not for the sheer fun of it, not when they had plenty of other places to test their equipment, not to mention anyone in Spec Ops will tell you that the ultimate prey is another human. And believe me there were plenty of other humans causing problems for the military that they would be more than willing to test their equipment on.

Then it hit me, maybe this is some Spec Ops guy gone whacko, and out here blastin' whatever he can. Well, it didn't matter what it was, I wasn't gonna be it's next victim. I thought about how long the Ostrocaurus had been dead now and that most of its body heat had diminished. If this guy was capable of using his infrared like I was when I was in Spec Ops, then this carcass was going to be the perfect cover. At least until this guy changed spectrum modes again. I'm sure that if he was looking for the carcass all this time, and he was using infrared, it would have disappeared from his view by now based on the loss of heat. I didn't truly know what spectrum he might have been using but it wouldn't matter anyway. The grass was tall where I stood, nearly up to my waist in certain areas. One way or another, I felt that the carcass would be a good enough distraction to somehow get back to my vehicle, not far from here. I would have a better chance of discovering the identity of my stalker once getting there, considering the firepower I kept in the storage compartment.

I would have at least a few seconds of surprise over my adversary, which in my mind was enough to possibly formulate an escape route.

My antagonist continued moving through the trees, although slower now, he was still making progress. After reaching an area adjacent to the nearby creek, it appeared as if his movement had stopped laterally and began moving more towards me than anything.

I waited calmly but watchfully for just the right moment to put my plan into action. I locked my eyes on the glimmer of his vague silhouette as I slowly bent down below the cover of the grass, and closer to the smelly carcass in front of me. I was ready to begin picking up the carcass when I heard a familiar sound.

It was truly a distinctive sound. Repetitively, the audible chopping of thin airfoils resonated through the atmosphere, and it was getting closer. Without taking my eyes off my foe I began to add things up in my head, still waiting for the moment I would have to use the carcass in front of me as cover to strategically crawl closer to my vehicle under the added cover of the tall grass. The chopper I requested for the extraction of the Ostrocaurus remains was still supposed to be a few minutes out. 'Must be the military unit Jack was talking about.'

I thought about using their presence here to my advantage, but if I alerted them to my being here then I would be giving away my position, as well as putting them at risk if they were to land. I decided to wait it out and see what happened next.

Bending down just behind the carcass I could feel the wetness begin to seep into the knees of my jeans, as the remaining bodily fluids that failed to cauterize spread slowly across the immediate area of soil. I was as low as I could get without losing my perspective on my enemy, when I was suddenly shocked at the next turn of events.

The heavily armed helicopter came over the canopy of trees and began firing plasma bursts, and high-powered ballistic weaponry into the very area where my foe was located. One of the shots from the plasma rifle struck a branch just above what I perceived to be the head of my antagonist. A loud roaring scream bellowed from the creature as I watched it dodge to and fro, before leaping out of sight further into the trees and heading for the creek. Apparently the plasma burst was enough to electrically disturb the cloaking field around the creature. Sparks and small trails of miniature blue-white lightning dissipated around the once invisible silhouette as I managed to see its backside for just long enough to know that this thing wasn't human after all.

I gave up the idea of covering my self with the dead remains of the Ostrocaurus, and instead bolt for my vehicle at the right edge of the clearing. Thankfully I was still in good shape for my age and strong as well, and it didn't take long for me to reach it.

My vehicle, a trusted crawler type was well built, the body though, was old and had been repaired many times, and there was probably more weld than body left, but I like the antique look. Of course Jack and some of the others I was associated with who had seen this thing would say it had that ancient look. While it was true that the body was over two hundred years old, it still served its purpose. The insides, and the propulsion system were an entirely different story though. The most up to date electronics, comfortable yet durable seating, and the engine, well let's just say Hydrodyne shall we. It had a custom competition grade suspension system. This thing, for a land vehicle was the ultimate. While others used expensive anti gravity cars, mine was cheaper and ran longer on its fuel source.

It was a beautiful sight to see this thing sitting there unharmed, and waiting for me. The feeling arose more than likely from the fact that I knew my weapons in there were fairly powerful and would have no quarrels about having to be fired in my defense. In fact, some of the weapons I stored in there were just plain mean looking, and probably yearned to be fired. Maybe they would get the chance.

I was just about to reach my vehicle when I heard another burst of plasma fire. Normally this wouldn't have caught my attention, but there was something different about the sound this time. A variation in the volume is what really stood out, but overall, the sound itself didn't have as much of a sizzle to it.

No sooner than I turned around to see what was happening, my body was pounded backwards by the force of the explosion as pieces of the helicopter flew in a thousand different directions. I slammed into the crawler violently from about ten feet away of my original position. Fortunately my reflexes are still up to par and I was able to half shield my head with my hands and tuck my body into a more ball-like shape in order to more absorb the impact. I felt myself hit the side of the vehicle and immediately drop down to the ground. As I said before my reflexes are sharp and my body automatically maneuvered into a landing position.

As I hit the ground I instantly realized that I was a bit angrier than before. If you think my internal instinct and survival switch was on before, 'Heh, heh!' The dial just got cranked up to pissed off! 'Just you wait pal, I'm gonna mount your head on my wall' I said out loud to myself.

I stood slowly and cautiously from my crouched position and sternly walked to the back of my crawler to get some…'things' per se.

It wasn't often that a small low powered weapon could take out a helicopter with as much firepower, and defenses as it had, unless of course they got in a lucky shot. In fact, I happen to know that design of chopper well. There was nothing short of a small ballistic device that could've taken it down. I'm betting it was a lucky shot. It only makes sense now, not only did this creature utilize vision enhancement gear but he had a targeting system as well. It's the only explanation as to how he could've destroyed that chopper. Especially from the distance he happened to be from it.

'You're gonna be sorry you didn't kill me sooner you asshole!' I thought as I looked through the scope on the side of my plasma burner. It wasn't very often I used this weapon, but this situation may very well call for it, and I just wanted to make sure that it was ready to use in case I needed it. I really do enjoy weapons of all kinds, but being the kind of person that believes in efficiency, I would never use more than I need to get the job done. Never hurts to be prepared though.

The red lettering appeared in his facemask clearly, indicating that his audio sensors were working properly. Ro'kuld'se compared the audio segment he had just recorded to various other audible tracks he and his kind had sampled over the years. It was a match; there was no mistaking the translation, or the voiceprint. The human had said the words.

"…not onl…cut all the fu…ng I give you, but I'll hunt you down, and the…ll be no place in th…erse you can hide…do you hear me?" The translator paused intermittently during the recording due to the distance away from the human that he was. Although there were some missing segments, the words that were clearly audible were enough to confirm that this man was the one they were looking for. Or more importantly the one _he_ was looking for. His honor would depend on it.

The Yautja Warrior was careful not to alert his prey as to his presence, and slowly attempted to make his way around the clearing of trees behind the human. It was during all of this that the human was acting strangely as if he knew something wasn't right. It was almost like he knew Ro'kuld'se was there, and not letting on that he knew it.

'These humans can be sneaky creatures.' He stated bluntly into his mask.

Everything happening was beginning to become confusing for him. His actions were definitively a sign of that. He had either paused or changed directions, and even retreated a few steps, at several different points during the encounter with the human. Every time he moved the human countered with some kind of unpredictable action. This was unlike any other hunt he had ever been on. It was as if the human knew the game. It was like he knew the sport of hunting just as well as the Yautja did. There were moments when the human would act as if he knew Ro'kuld'se was there and moments when he would act completely oblivious to his presence.

There came a point when the Yautja was readying himself to silently remove the dead creatures body from the grassy field without the human knowing. Unfortunately the human began to turn as if protecting it. Ro'kuld'se had stopped in his tracks. Slowly he had managed to make his way a few degrees around the edge of the clearing through the trees and thought that he now had visually thrown the human off of his trail. The rest of the trek through the trees proved difficult considering the human was so unpredictable.

Ro'kuld'se was about to consider the use of his burner and simply kill the human, except that the Elder onboard was in constant communication with him, and had advised him of the position of using this opportunity to further study the human. More importantly their sensors had just now picked up two human aircraft in the area, and any firing of a plasma blaster would have alerted them to Ro'kuld'se's position instantaneously. This was something the Elder wanted to avoid. It was bad enough that they stayed this close to the action. There wasn't much of a choice though, considering that Ro'kuld'se was given this opportunity to redeem himself and finally see the potential for achieving Warrior status, and all hunts on Earth nowadays were considered dangerous enough to the point of being supervised by an Elder from a nearby ship.

It was years ago since the last visit to Earth, and Ro'kuld'se had recently managed to convince an Elder to return despite the danger. Only the bravest of Warriors ever hunted here any more. It was hard enough to hunt, not to mention navigate past all the Earth ships that came and went around the planet and throughout the rest of their solar system. Of course that was what made a human trophy so much more valuable now than years before. Getting there was half the battle. Naturally it wouldn't be difficult to find an older Yautja to pilot the ship. Some of the older of his kind having too difficult a time hunting were finding a new respect within their clans simply by volunteering to fly a ship through the difficult region of space.

His real reason for returning though, was a matter of vengeance, pride, and the ability to move up in rank amongst his kind by reacquiring the trophy he felt was rightfully his. Ro'kuld'se was stuck in limbo according to his people's rights of passage. After passing the Kainde Amedha Chiva he was assigned to a hunt on Earth that would allow him to eradicate the mistakes of the humans in regards to the experimenting with the Kainde Amedha, or Hard Meat. Otherwise known as Xenomorphs to humans. It was during this hunt that Ro'kuld'se was attempting to stalk and kill one of the Hard Meat, when a human, from below where the Hard Meat hung upside down in the tree, had fired a small thin projectile, we believe the humans label it as an 'arrow,' from a very primitive weapon making a kill shot right through the mouth.

Ro'kuld'se also fired a weapon from above and simultaneously struck the Hard Meat directly through the back of the neck and into the head with his spear gun. It was odd that the spear didn't just go right through the head of the Hard Meat and kill the human too. It should have. He could only assume that the metals they use now are strong enough to deflect their weapons. Where the spear tip was now he had no idea, and truthfully it didn't really matter. As far as he was concerned it was his kill. He had been hunting it longer, and the human only came across it by chance. He would have instantly killed the human too, except that the Hard Meat had lashed with its spiny tail in a reflex to being shot through the head. It had knocked Ro'kuld'se out of the tree with such force that he was unconscious for some time, and had landed several human meters away behind some thick underbrush.

That would only be the first trophy that Ro'kuld'se would be denied. Other trophies would be denied to this Yautja later by this same human who, with hunting skills nearly that of the best of any Yautja, seemed a far more capable hunter than Ro'kuld'se. In our society, and according to our codes one cannot return from a hunt without a trophy and earn the privilege of gaining rank or even take a mate for that matter. It is this that drove Ro'kuld'se to his present need to return to Earth and reclaim his prize, of course he has added the taking of this particular human's skull to his agenda this time. Ro'kuld'se was almost possessed by the idea of taking this humans head, and for good reason, it was often times over the years that Ro'kuld'se was known to repeatedly listen to the recordings he'd made of this humans voice during his first visit here.

The human was spotted removing the listening device from his ear and had hidden it somewhere within his clothing. It was then that Ro'kuld'se had made it almost halfway around the clearing when the sudden appearance of a human aircraft came over the trees firing rapid bursts of plasma at the Yautja.

He swiftly outmaneuvered the blasts and managed to elude the aircraft for a few seconds. After making his way down towards what the humans call a creek, he found himself in the perfect position to be able to return fire. Using his targeting system, Ro'kuld'se then fired his plasma blaster not thinking that a single shot would destroy it. His targeting system defined all the characteristics of the object in fine detail and switched through the different spectrums available until it found something to lock onto. It was when the targeting indicator had finally changed back to infrared that it was able to lock on to what was obviously the propulsion system. His plasma weapon fired instantly, and to the Yautja's surprise the entire vehicle exploded. It was unfortunate that the humans had left their defenses on the helicopter in an open position, allowing him to fire right through one of the open panels on the side, as it approached closer. He would have rather had the opportunity to hunt these creatures individually and in more of an honorable way, but unfortunately the weakness of the design of the human aircraft, coupled with the luck of his shot had resulted in its complete destruction.

He had lost track of the human during his attempt to stay alive, and it may have been that he killed the human inadvertently while defending himself. That would be quite a disappointment. He would now have to make sure that whatever trophy he returned with from this trip was going to make up for the less than honorable way in which those particular humans had died.

Of course, if everything were to go as planned he would not only return with the trophy he was robbed of years ago, but also have a new one to add to his collection. And based on the details of this hunt so far, he was sure to have gained a great honor among his kind in the near future if he can truly achieve his goals while here.

For the Yautja, hunting on Earth has become extremely dangerous in the last hundred years or so. In fact, in the several thousand years that we've been visiting, it's been getting more difficult each and every time. Humans have developed technologies far and above what we originally thought they were capable of. It's recently been discovered that they now have the capacity to see in different spectrums of light as we ourselves do. It probably won't be long before they discover the ability to cloak themselves in the same manner. It's not to say that they can't already do this, for we have records of some of them using materials as a covering that hides them from our infrared sensors. Unfortunately for them it doesn't hide them from most of the other vision settings that we're capable of.

It has been well documented though, that they are becoming increasingly intelligent, and more cunning by the day. What's more is, now that they have learned how to harness cold fusion, the possibilities for them are nearly endless. They have ventured out into space in less than one Yautja's lifetime. This alone is an amazing feat. Our scientists say that these humans are advancing at an alarming rate. One of them even went as far as saying that the humans may one day run the universe. He is obviously not well liked, and it would serve him well to keep his mandibles narrowed a bit further before someone removes them altogether, for speaking such a blasphemy. While it may be true that most of us admire the humans for their increasing resourcefulness, to think that they would ever overpower us as a race is pure nonsense.

Of course this current hunt is proving the most difficult yet. Human technology has changed significantly just in the last twenty of their years or so. They now have the ability to detect our presence from space, regardless of what cloaking measures we have taken, albeit, their technology hasn't quite been perfected as of yet. We ourselves have learned of a way to counteract their actions about eighty percent of the time or more, but only if we have taken all the right steps to do so, and carefully I might add.

It was at this point that Ro'kuld'se had both mentally and physically retreated from the area for the purpose of gaining a better perspective on the situation. His Elder had been in communication with him and relayed the news of another incoming human aircraft. It would only be a few more Earth minutes before they arrived. Ro'kuld'se must have figured that his haste in wanting to kill the human is what alerted his prey to his presence. It would now be more beneficial for him to take up a camouflaged position within the trees and wait to see what events were to unfold. Seeing as to how his race was unsure as to what advancements the humans had made it would probably be a good idea to find cover near or under the nearest outcropping of boulders. After he was satisfied that things had calmed down he would return to collect the skull of this new species as an added bonus. He might very well carry back to his Homeworld three impressive skulls to prove his worth.

It wasn't long before his sensors located a cave nearby. Once there he could hide from any detection device the humans may have managed to create, for no sensor, no matter how powerful was able to penetrate solid rock. At least, not that he knew of. The cave would also serve to provide a place to lower his guard and concentrate on the repairs to his cloaking device. Perhaps he would even have the time to formulate a new plan of attack in regards to the human.

He was nearly at the cave entrance and the sensors weren't picking up any human life signs. His bio gear had indicated that he began to relax. It was then that he manipulated the keypad on his wrist gauntlet and programmed it to project a heads up display in hologram form out in the front of his field of view. It was translucent enough to see the upcoming obstacles on the ground. He continued to walk steadily towards the cave and studied the entire areas geography including the patch of land where this human's residence happened to be.

He knew this human would go back there at some point if he weren't already dead from the explosion. Yes, he knew where the human lived and it wasn't far from here. It was where this hunt had started, and it was where Ro'kuld'se had intended to finish it in the beginning anyway. After all the Kainde Amedha trophy he was here to reclaim from his first hunt of years ago was in that house. All other Kainde Amedha skulls were destroyed in the process of being hunted by the human, or taken by the scientists that typically arrived on the scene shortly after the human had left.

It was earlier in this very same Earth day that Ro'kuld'se had arrived in the vicinity of the humans home and was preparing to retake his Hard Meat trophy right off the wall if he had to, and was hoping that the human would try to intervene, it would be his skull removed from the house as well if he had.

Things don't always go as planned though, and the human unexpectedly left his home for the deeper woods. Even more exasperated with the way this hunt was preceding he decided to follow the human and hunt him in a more honorable fashion, with the hopes that he may be able to see some hand to hand combat making the humans skull that much more prestigious.

All in all, the hologram depicted everything he would need to know about the geography in order to better track the human. He would first need to re-examine the area where the carcass of his most recent kill hopefully remained. It would be there that he would determine the whereabouts of the human and finalize his plans for returning with hard earned trophies.

The cave entrance was just ahead and Ro'kuld'se paused for a moment to scan the interior for any would-be threats, and upon being satisfied with the results he walked through the entrance towards the shadows slipping away into the darkness.


End file.
